Steward: Thompson Will Be a Tough Fight For Klitschko

By Luke Furman

On July 7th in Bern, Switzerland, IBF/WBO/IBO/WBA heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (57-3, 50KOs) will make a mandatory defense against the IBF's number one rated boxer, Tony Thompson (36-2, 24KOs). Back in July of 2007, Klitschko stopped Thompson in the eleventh round of their battle. Before the stoppage, Thompson gave Klitschko some fits. The champion's trainer, Emanuel Steward, expects a very tough in the rematch.

"Among all the boxers who Wladimir faced once he became the champion of the world [for the second time], the most difficult opponent was Tony Thompson. We tried four different strategies in fight with him until we found the [the correct method]. Thompson was much tougher than Wladimir's other opponents because of his size, his stance and his relaxation in battle. He was the only boxer where Wladimir's jab didn't work," Steward said.

Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org